Selena Lee & Kenneth Chen
July 19, 2014
Mandarin Oriental, Boston
Boston, Massachusetts
Photograph by Nicole Chan Photography
On a sunny September day in 2013, Kenneth Chen serenaded his girlfriend, Selena Lee, with a piano rendition of John Legend’s “All of Me” on a beach in Malibu. Then, as the sun set on the California coastline, he asked her to be his wife. Less than a year later, Selena walked down the aisle to the same tune, performed by a harp trio in the garden at the Mandarin Oriental, Boston. “[I wanted] to bring us back to that beautiful moment on the beach and to remind Ken that I will forever remember and cherish it,” she says.
It was important to the Bay Area couple, who met during their first year at Babson College, to weave customs from their families’ native China and Hong Kong into their otherwise-modern nuptials. Before exchanging vows, Selena and Kenneth hosted a tea ceremony, during which the bride wore a gold-embroidered kwa. “It’s really a tradition that’s lost in our generation, and not everyone does it,” Kenneth says. Of course, the wedding featured many contemporary touches as well, such as mini champagne bottles filled with bubbles, a dramatic monogram in pink lights in the ballroom, and an exuberant walk down the aisle by Trooper, the pair’s Maltipoo. “He was a good sport,” Selena says. “He was exhausted from all the excitement during the week.”
Photograph by Nicole Chan Photography
Kenneth’s custom navy tux, ordered through the website Black Lapel, was embroidered inside with the phrase “happy wife, happy life.”
Photograph by Nicole Chan Photography
Selena’s bridesmaids donned coral chiffon dresses.
Photograph by Nicole Chan Photography
Selena wore three outfits over the course of the wedding day: a traditional kwa, a delicate Jenny Packham sheath dress, and a qipao with foiled flowers toward the end of the reception.
Photograph by Nicole Chan Photography
Guests blew bubbles (from mini champagne bottles) over the just-married couple.
Photograph by Nicole Chan Photography
Bridesmaids poured a sweet black tea with red dates, lotus seeds, and longan at the tea ceremony.
Photograph by Nicole Chan Photography
In lieu of a traditional guest book, Selena and Kenneth made a Shutterfly calendar of photos from their engagement shoot, and asked guests to sign on their birthdays.
Photograph by Nicole Chan Photography
Orchids N’ Blooms created sophisticated high and low floral arrangements featuring cymbidium orchids, garden roses, and hydrangea. “[I like] modern, clean lines—that’s what I wanted for my flowers,” Selena says.
Photograph by Nicole Chan Photography
The bride and groom choreographed their first dance to “Entra en Mi Vida,” by Sin Bandera.
The File
Bridesmaid Dresses Wtoo, Weddington Way
Bride’s Shoes Salvatore Ferragamo
Ceremony Music The Gilded Harps
DJ Jeff Durand, Beat Train Productions
Favors NatureBox
Flowers Orchids N’ Blooms
Gown Jenny Packham
Hair and Makeup Special Event Beauty
Menswear Black Lapel
Stationery AP Printing Corp.
Videographer Brighter Lights Media
Wedding Planner Gracie Lou Events
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